Editing James Driskell

{{Short description|Canadian man wrongfully convicted of murder}}
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{{BLP sources|date=November 2019}}
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'''James Patrick Driskell''' (born 1959) is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] born in [[Winnipeg]] who was [[wrongful conviction|wrongfully convicted]] of the [[murder]] of '''Perry Harder''' in 1991.

Driskell's trial and conviction led to a [[List of Canadian royal commissions|commission of inquiry]] in 2006.

==The crime and prosecution==
Harder was last seen outside his rooming house in a [[pickup truck]] and his remains were found in a shallow [[Grave (burial)|grave]] just outside [[Winnipeg]], Manitoba, Canada, three months after his disappearance. Harder had been shot at least once.

Harder and Driskell had previously been charged with possession of stolen goods, and the [[The Crown|Crown]]'s [[theory]] was that Driskell had committed the murder in order to prevent Harder from [[Testimony|testifying]] against him.

The only physical [[evidence]] linking Driskell to the crime were three [[hair]]s found in his [[van]] that supposedly belonged to the victim. [[DNA]] tests showed years later that not only did the hairs in fact not belong to Harder, but they weren't even related to each other.

==Later years==
On 3 March 2005, [[Minister of Justice]] and [[Attorney General of Canada]] [[Irwin Cotler]] used a special provision of the ''[[Criminal Code (Canada)|Criminal Code]]'' to quash the conviction, stay the charges, and order a new trial for Driskell, but the [[Minister of Justice and Attorney General (Manitoba)|Manitoba Department of Justice]] decided not to order a new trial. It instead entered a stay of proceedings and called for a public inquiry, ending Driskell's conviction without exonerating him.

Driskell had been free on [[bail]] since late 2003, after serving a total of 12 years in [[Stony Mountain Penitentiary]] convicted of [[first-degree murder]]. Driskell's lawyers were [[James Lockyer (activist)|James Lockyer]] and Alan Libman, both prominent defence lawyers working with the [[Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted]].

The ''Commission of Inquiry Into Certain Aspects of the Trial and Conviction of James Driskell'' began April 4, 2006. Commissioner was The Honourable Patrick LeSage, Q.C. The inquiry was completed, and the findings and recommendations of the Inquiry were provided to Attorney General of Manitoba, Dave Chomiak, on January 30, 2007.<ref>[http://www.driskellinquiry.ca Report of the Commission of Inquiry Into Certain Aspects of the Trial and Conviction of James Driskell.] Retrieved 14 Dec 2010.</ref>  In 2008, Driskell was awarded over $4 million compensation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2008/02/c2803.html |title=CNW Group {{!}} SUTTS, STROSBERG LLP BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS {{!}} $13 million action commenced by William Mullins-Johnson |website=www.newswire.ca |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003120422/http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2008/02/c2803.html |archive-date=2008-10-03}} </ref>

==External links==
*[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050303.w2drisk0303/BNStory/National Globe and Mail article March 3, 2005]
*[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050304/WRONGFUL04/TPNational/TopStories Globe and Mail article March 3, 2005]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051128172224/http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/news/nr/2005/doc_31408.html Canadian Government Press Release March 3, 2005]
*[http://www.reidreporting.com/driskell.html Driskell Inquiry Transcripts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060430062614/http://www.reidreporting.com/driskell.html |date=2006-04-30 }}

==See also==
*[[Overturned convictions in Canada]]
*[[List of miscarriage of justice cases]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{WrongfulMurderConvictions}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Driskell, James}}
[[Category:Commissions and inquiries in Manitoba|Driskell Inquiry]]
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:Overturned convictions in Canada]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People wrongfully convicted of murder]]